“Terrorist Rehab?” aired on PBS

New York – Can terrorists be rehabilitated with kindness? On Friday, May 8 at 8:30 PM NOW on PBS partners with best-selling author and journalist Robert Lacey (The Kingdom, Majesty) to investigate the surprising success of Saudi Arabia’s approach to dealing with terrorists and extremists –without torture or water-boarding.

Given extraordinary access to the Saudi Arabian Interior Ministry and its practices, Lacey visits terrorist rehabilitation camps that use ‘soft policing’ tactics to be NICE to the bad guys.

The film, produced by Oscar-nominated LOKI Films (Jesus Camp) & Emmy-award winning Political Bytes Productions, shows the Saudis providing a private jumbo jet to bring inmates home from Gitmo, giving them a hero’s welcome, then sending them to a converted holiday resort to try to re-brainwash these hard line young men.

It’s a program that has been copied in other parts of the world – including by some of America’s forces in Iraq. The film follows a rehabilitation class in which the young prisoners are taught the ‘correct’ rules of Holy War.

Is this rehab program working, and can we trust the Saudis to protect themselves – and us – against the threat of Islamic extremism in the future? Watch this NOW on PBS report for a perspective on terrorism you’ve never seen before.

Part 1

Part 2

ABOUT NOW on PBS
Called “fearless about challenging conventional wisdom” by Tom Brokaw and “one of the last bastions of serious journalism on TV” by the Austin American-Statesman, the Emmy-winning PBS weekly newsmagazine NOW engages viewers with documentary segments and insightful interviews that probe the most important issues facing democracy.

NOW is a production of JumpStart Productions, LLC, in association with Thirteen/WNET New York. The show can also be accessed through On-Demand television, audio podcasting, video podcasting, and streaming video on the NOW website at www.nowonpbs.org.